STM question

roadspeckle · April 2014

How does post partum fatigue compare to late third trimester fatigue? I am having to take a nap after working a full day, then going to bed a few hours later. I feel like post partum exhaustion is more "favorable" as you will have your baby physically so you feel better.
I have a feeling that I might be a little naiive.
Please share.

ksyknelvr73 · April 2014

Third trimester is worse for me (based on my prior experience). There is the fatigue but also the discomfort when you actually do try to sleep! For me, once DS was here, I slept better and had good quality sleep even though it was more broken up bc of having a newborn.

tbmadeamistake · April 2014

With C it wasn't as bad. PP, while your sleep will be interrupted, for me it was better quality sleep because I was physically comfortable. I hate third tri sleep, nothing is comfortable. PP you can also nap with baby, at least until you go back to work if you're doing that, so there's more of a chance to sleep during the day.

TonyaCody06 · April 2014

For me, pregnancy fatigue didn't come close to the degree of PP fatigue I experienced. It seems to get worse before it gets better. Yes, the cute little baby is motivation to keep going but I ran on fumes sometimes with a newborn. Sorry, this isn't probably helping any!

MrsP419 · April 2014

From what I remember, PP fatigue is better than pregnancy fatigue, mostly because it is not accompanied by great discomfort. Yes, you sleep in little chunks, but when you are out, you are OUT. You are exhausted, but able to actually rest for small spurts of time. I always hated when the know-it-alls would say "If you think you are tired now, just wait until the baby comes" to me when I was pregnant. I found it to be untrue. It is a different kind of exhaustion but rest was more satisfying.

I say this with the knowledge that this could all go out the window with twins and a C-section recovery :-).

steprozz · April 2014

honestly, I felt like I was on autopilot the first month after DS was born. my body just did what it needed to do and I didn't even realize I was tired, even if I was to the point of exhaustion I just kept going because my baby needed me. when I did sleep, my quality of sleep was so much better that the few hours I did get each night was enough to keep me going through the day. I think third trimester exhaustion is way worse than PP.

rainbowdashh · April 2014

I was much more tired during the third trimester than after delivery. Sleeping comfortably makes a huge difference for me. DD napped so often and since we were the only ones home all day, I napped a lot too.

I expect this time around I'll be tired no matter what from toddler wrangling and a newborn.

snowpants · April 2014

TonyaCody06 said:

For me, pregnancy fatigue didn't come close to the degree of PP fatigue I experienced. It seems to get worse before it gets better. Yes, the cute little baby is motivation to keep going but I ran on fumes sometimes with a newborn. Sorry, this isn't probably helping any!

Same here. 3rd Tri fatigue was nothing compared to how tired I was after DD arrived. For me, even being uncomfortable all night long in 3rd Tri I can still roll over (with a hell of a lot of effort) and go back to sleep throughout the night. With a newborn I was still uncomfortable for awhile, but when baby cried I had to get up and actually function...feeding, burping, changing diapers, getting baby back to sleep, etc. It obviously gets better, but it was tough.

catsinawindow · April 2014

As PP have said, you get less sleep postpartum, but when you do get sleep you SLEEP. This probably depends on how fussy baby is, but I did find the sum total of the exhaustion to be worse with a newborn than while PG in third trimester. DS was a difficult baby, though.

lest12 · April 2014

This is all interesting, thank you STM's. I have such a vision of being a magical unicorn, where the baby sleeps through the night right away and I magically drop all the baby weight in a week and DH, baby and I get to spend the summer at the beach where no one needs to worry about sunscreen. I am in for such a rude awakening lol.

catsinawindow · April 2014

MrsP419 said:

From what I remember, PP fatigue is better than pregnancy fatigue, mostly because it is not accompanied by great discomfort. Yes, you sleep in little chunks, but when you are out, you are OUT. You are exhausted, but able to actually rest for small spurts of time. I always hated when the know-it-alls would say "If you think you are tired now, just wait until the baby comes" to me when I was pregnant. I found it to be untrue. It is a different kind of exhaustion but rest was more satisfying.

I say this with the knowledge that this could all go out the window with twins and a C-section recovery :-).

Oh gosh, i hated this advice at the end of PG too. Because someone telling me that I should be sleeping is actually going to help me sleep...right...

jshrop · April 2014

lest12 said:
This is all interesting, thank you STM's.

I have such a vision of being a magical unicorn, where the baby sleeps through the night right away and I magically drop all the baby weight in a week and DH, baby and I get to spend the summer at the beach where no one needs to worry about sunscreen. I am in for such a rude awakening lol.

I have this same dream. Baby, bikini, and booze... All during week 2 PP

lest12 · April 2014

@jshrop - whatever gets us through 3rd tri, ok? Let's not let anyone ruin it for us!

Mizoo · April 2014

jshrop said:

This is all interesting, thank you STM's. I have such a vision of being a magical unicorn, where the baby sleeps through the night right away and I magically drop all the baby weight in a week and DH, baby and I get to spend the summer at the beach where no one needs to worry about sunscreen. I am in for such a rude awakening lol.
I have this same dream. Baby, bikini, and booze... All during week 2 PP

I plan on riding this fantasy train until reality forcibly smacks me in the face!

MrsAMB07 · April 2014

TonyaCody06 said:

For me, pregnancy fatigue didn't come close to the degree of PP fatigue I experienced. It seems to get worse before it gets better. Yes, the cute little baby is motivation to keep going but I ran on fumes sometimes with a newborn. Sorry, this isn't probably helping any!

Pretty much this. With my first I could take naps (that's pretty much out with 2+), so enjoy that benefit! But I always found the advice to sleep when the baby sleeps useless, because that was my only chance to get anything done. When the baby is here, someone is always demanding something from you, especially if you're nursing, and that alone is physically and emotionally draining, especially while you're healing yourself.

I sleep very well during pregnancy, aside from needing to pee and flip sides over and over. That's way better than having to wake all the way up to feed and change a baby multiple times. I don't think I sleep well in small chunks, so maybe that's just me. Although, the caffeine allowance once baby is out is a nice perk.

ElTrain5 · April 2014

jshrop said:

lest12 said:
This is all interesting, thank you STM's.

I have such a vision of being a magical unicorn, where the baby sleeps through the night right away and I magically drop all the baby weight in a week and DH, baby and I get to spend the summer at the beach where no one needs to worry about sunscreen. I am in for such a rude awakening lol.
I have this same dream. Baby, bikini, and booze... All during week 2 PP

C'mon now...we need to be realistic here. It's baby, booze, TANKINI.

ncbelle · April 2014

I've never really had 3rd trimester fatigue…certainly not like 1st trimester! Postpartum with #1 was more tiring …until I figured out the magic of bedsharing

Went straight to bed sharing with #2 and never felt particularly tired postpartum.

ChristineBaker23 · April 2014

I was definitely more exhausted during the third tri than post partum. It was like a lot of others have said already, the quality of sleep without a bowling ball in your pelvis is so much better that it makes up for the lack of sleep. Not to say you won't be tired, just you will be more comfortable and able to rest more after baby is here. Newborns sleep ALOT. Our routine was basically; 2 hour nap, nurse for 30 minutes, burp, back to sleep for 2 hours. This gives plenty of time for mommy to nap too. And at night I often snoozed while nursing.

gmc222 · April 2014

For me I think it was basically a draw, but you do have the adrenaline and excitement of having a newborn, so that helps. I was also able to rest more when I needed it because DD was my first, and I worry that the days that I have both kids while on maternity leave will be a LOT harder because I won't get the chance to nap at all during the day. DH was also a huge help.

But in general there was a lot of relief after DD was born which made the fatigure more bearable - no more heartburn, no leakage (well, after you're done bleeding), no backaches, etc. It's still tough but you will love your baby so much that none of it will matter!

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